Archive for OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA

As second time nominee for cow of the year Comestar Goldwyn Lilac VG89 6*successfully ticks all four boxes: classification, production, the show ring and genomics. In 2013 Lilac not only had daughters and granddaughters continue to hold high rankings on elite lists but she built on her famed Lila Z foundation. (Read more: COMESTAR GOLDWYN LILAC: 2012 Canadian Cow of the Year Nominee)

Lilac`s Pedigree Shines from A to Lila Z

The sires behind Lilac are Goldwyn, Durham, Formation, Starbuck and Astro Jet. These five are some of the greatest sires in North America and have made a significant contribution to Lilac’s success story. Goldwyn especially, who is known as an impact sire, certainly did that for Lilac.

Lilac Produces Outstanding Progeny

It is obvious that Lilac carries on the strong transmitting potential of her pedigree. Many of her high indexing sons and daughters are setting outstanding benchmarks. Originally in the spotlight as a descendant of the Lila Z family, Lilac is establishing herself as a matriarch in her own right. Currently Lilac has 141 progeny: 74 daughters and 67 sons. Offspring born in 2013 added polled and red to the family. And, once again, the numbers are excellent. The daughters of Goldwyn Lilac now claim star power that stands at 6 stars for Lilac, having added 3 in 2013. Lilac currently has 26 classified daughters: 19 Very Good and 7 Good Plus. Nothing lower than Good Plus is a remarkable record. That is also the case with the standard being set by Lilac’s top daughter Lucy. Lucy is Lilac’s top gLPI daughter, with Lucia in second and rising close behind are other daughters yet to calve by Uno, Brewmaster, Snowman and Epic.

MAPEL WOOD M O M LUCY Lilac’s highest DGV daughter by Man-O-Man

Lilac Loves Lucy … and Lucia!

Mapel Wood Man O Man Lucy is Lilac’s top gLPI daughter at 3363. Lucy herself has seven daughters that are all over 3000 gLPI. Lucy’s top daughter is Sudan Licorice who was a sale topper at $200,000 at the 2012 International Intrigue Sale. (Read more: International Intrigue – The Secret Is Exposed!) Lucy’s top son is Genervations Morley (Mogul) has a very high gLPI of 3326 and will be available to breeders in 2014. Lucy classified VG86 and made a superior production lactation in 2013.

Lilac’s Planet daughter Lucia was the #1 LPI Cow in August and December 2012. She classified VG86 and completed a superior production lactation. In 365 days, at two years of age Lucia produced 15,287kg of milk at 4.5% fat and 3.6% protein. Lucia has 21 daughters that are 3000 gLPI or higher. For a year now, breeders have been using three of Lucia’s popular Boulder sons: Liquid Gold, Fuzion and Gizmo. Her highest gLPI indexing son by Enforcer at +3347 was born in October 2013. (Read more: $750 Dollar Semen! Are You Crazy?)

The Sharing of the Great Lilac Genes

Obviously, Lilacs great genes are being passed on to the next generation. Daughters beyond Lucy and Lucia are rapidly adding to those 28 high achieving grand-daughters as they too produce daughters that score at 3000 gLPI or higher. As the Lilac crop is scored it is clear that Lilac’s daughters classify high early in their lifetimes with 16 being VG in their first lactation of which 4 also had superior production lactations. It is also interesting to note that, early on, one of Lilac’s popular mates was Shottle. Her combination with him has produced two VG88 Shottle daughters who have superior production lactations. (Read more: LESSONS LEARNED: 6 Dairy Cattle Investment Secrets Revealed)

MAPEL WOOD SHOTTLE LILI VG-88-2YR-CAN

The Lilac Family has Son Shine Too!

Lilac’s son Leading Edge (BWM Leader) received his first daughter proof in December 2013. That proof came in at 2684 gLPI with high ratings for component percentages and feet & legs. Other high genomic Lilac sons that are yet to be proven include Luxor (+3293 gLPI), Lanyard (+3164 gLPI) and Lingo (+3103 gLPI) all sired by Man O Man and Latimer (+3023 gLPI) who is sired by Freddie.

Not only did Lilac perform in the barn, she also did so in the show ring where she was All –Ontario Sr. 2-Yr 2008 and was Nominated All-Canadian Sr. 2-Yr 2008. At 183 days in milk, in her second lactation, she was raised to VG89 – the maximum possible classification score.

Lilac has been competitive on the index list as well. She has placed as high as #6 LPI cow but, even more amazing, is that she has placed in the top 16 on the LPI list no less than 9 consecutive times. That’s blooming great no matter how you look at it.

Goldwyn Lilac`s record of success is also rounded out by records made in the auction ring. Lilac’s family accounted for approximately 66% of the 2012 Genetics By Design Sale’s total! As well, son Lexor had many high selling daughters in sales over the past two years. (Read more: Genetics by Design – Crosses the $4,000,000 Mark)

With all these achievements it is quite easy to forecast that the impact of the Comestar Goldwyn Lilac family will continue to positively build Holstein genetics around the world.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Each of the nominees is a winner in her own right simply for getting this far. Over the next few days we will get to know all of the nominees better. Some are already household names. Others are less familiar. Obviously they are all worthy of cheering on to the finish line. Who is your pick for 2013 Cow of the Year?

Please like and share if you think Lilac should be the 2013 Canadian Cow of the Year!

The Cow of the Year nominee booklet which includes a resume on each finalist and a voting card will be mailed to Holstein Canada members in the February-March 2014 Info Holstein. Voting options include mailing the postage-paid, tear-off voting ballot; faxing your ballot; emailing your vote to cowoftheyear@holstein.ca; or voting online from a confidential Holstein Canada online account.

Face it, the tactics that have been used for the past 50 years don’t work anymore. The same old ads. In the same old magazine. Advertising the same old genetics. After you’ve seen one, or two, or 10, you’ve seen them all! Boring! However, a Purple Cow? Now that would be something. Are you remarkable enough to have a Purple Cow? In today’s day and age of in vitro fertilization, genomics and social media, you’re either remarkable or invisible.

Seth Godin’s book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable is perfectly titled for dairy breeders today. Godin’s understanding of dairy cattle is limited as represented by his comment “Cows, after you’ve seen one, or two, or 10, are boring,” but his point about needing to be remarkable, in order to stand out from the herd, is spot on.

Every day breeders come face to face with a lot of boring stuff – even a lot of the same old boring cows – but you can bet they would never forget a Purple Cow. Now getting a Purple Cow marketing idea doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not as if you can just wake up one morning and change your marketing to have your “Purple Cow” idea. You need to breed for it. You need to manage for it. And then and only then can you market it.

The Game Changers

For years, generation after generation of consistent breeding was enough to have your genetics in demand around the world. However, that is no longer enough thanks to in vitro fertilization (Read more: IVF: Boom or Bust for the Dairy Industry and FAST TRACK GENETICS: More Results in Less Time). With so many breeders leveraging this technology and producing more and more cattle at the top end of the genetic scale, there has been a shift in the marketplace. What used to be unique is becoming commonplace. In this recent spring sale season, I saw no less than three full sisters (Uno’s from the great Apple) selling at three different sales in a 1-week period. And then of course there were still more sisters at home. IVF has changed things so much that even at the very top end, owners of the very best genetics are having trouble differentiating their product. Genetics that at one time would have been sale headliners, are now selling in those lull sections of the sale that minimize profits. Combine that with the cost to produce these animals and the ROI is shrinking. Of course IVF is a catch 22 technology. If you don’t use it and other breeders are using it on their top genetics, you’re still left behind.

If you want to get your message out to the world, there is nothing better than social media. The power of tools like Facebook to let breeders around the world know what animals you have is amazing (Read more: 7 Reasons Why Your Dairy Farm Needs To Be On Facebook and The Anti-Social Farmer: On the Verge of Extinction?). The thing is, it still takes those animals that are the “Purple Cows” in order to be noticed. Hailey, O’Kalibra, Missy, Happy Go Lucky and Rae Lynn are cows whose show ring successes have also caused social media success for their breeders. On the genomic side, cows like Shauna, Lucia, and Hue have attracted a lot of attention. Another aspect that helps pictures on Facebook go viral is the ones that comply with the Dairy Marketers Code of Conduct (Read more: Introducing the Diary Marketing Code of Conduct and Dairy Cattle Photography – Over Exposed ). However, in order to achieve this sustained viral status you first need to be unique. You need to know your niche. You need to be a “Purple Cow.”

Valleyville Rae Lynn is certainly a Purple Cow

The Bullvine Bottom Line

In Purple Cow, Seth Godin urges you to put Purple Cow differentiation into everything you build and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable. It’s a manifesto for dairy breeders looking to take their genetics programs to a new level. Pretty ads, generations of VG or EX and nice cattle pictures will not pay the bills. Either you set yourself apart or you are wasting your time. What makes you unique? Have you found your Purple Cow breeding program or marketing idea?

Before a standing room only crowd, one of the greatest cattle genetics partnerships, GMO (GenerVations, Mapel Wood, and O’Connor Land & Cattle Co.) reaped the fruits of their investments for an outstanding average of $27,666 on 175 lots. Vision, commitment and hard work came together at the Genetics By Design Sale.

Albert Cormier and LYLEHAVEN LILA Z

Fueled by the original purchase of COMESTAR GOLDWYN LILAC VG-89-5YR-CAN as a heifer for just under $60,000, this group has developed one of the most in-demand cow families in the world. Of course Lilac’s dam is none other than the $1.15 Million cow, LYLEHAVEN LILA Z EX-94-CAN 14*, who, at the time she sold, had many wondering if she was really worth it? (Read – Lylehaven Lila Z: Was She Really Worth $1.15 Million?) It is evident from this sale, that those questions have been answered. As auctioneer Brian Craswell emphasized, “It’s not how much the animals will bring but how much you will make” that was spurring on eager investors.

Leading the way was the #1 GLPI cow in Canada OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA VG-86-2YR-CAN. She and her ten daughters and fifteen first choices from her and her daughters totaled $2,119,500 or an astounding average of $81,519.. Very impressive even for one of the most in-demand young cows in the world. (Read – The Sensational 6 Top North American Genomic Holsteins We Would Invest In). Lucia herself drew the second highest bid of the day selling at $410,000 to Bert DeBruyn of Select Genetics LLC, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. One of the key things about this entire cow family is that they flush well, which is a key component in any genetics program (Read – What Comes First The Chicken Or The Egg?)

Numer Uno daughters of OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA VG-86-2YR-CAN

As Mapel Wood’s Len Vis points out to our readers ”You need to invest in the best and forget the rest.” (Read Mapel Wood Farms – Invest In The Rest Forget The Rest!) That is exactly what Oscar & Eric Dupasquier, Guelph, Ont., Cormdale Genetics Inc., Bethany, Ont., Impact Agr. Div. LA, Burlington, Ont., and Al.Be.Ro. Land & Cattle, Piacenza, Italy did in purchasing OCONNORS LAST HOPE for $475,000. She is currently the number one GTPI “Numero Uno” sired calf in the world with a +2672 GTPI and a +3534 GPA LPI. While not the highest of the Numero Uno daughters, Last Hope is an outstanding individual in her own right and sparked great interest. This heifer really is the complete package. She has that rare combination of personal conformation, production, durability, and health and fertility numbers. In talking with Oscar and Eric Dupasquier they said, “In today’s marketplace you have to work with the very best, there really is no mid-market anymore.” In purchasing part of Last Hope, that is exactly what they have done.

In a re-tooling initiative, Stanton Brothers were the major Genetics By Design buyers. They were the contending bid on Last Hope and ended up purchasing her higher genomic index full sister, MAPEL WOOD LAST DANCE for $365,000. Last Dance is the highest GPA LPI daughter of Lucia, and is the #1 GPA LPI Numero Uno in the world. Not done there, Stantons also purchased OCONNORS BOULDER LUNA, the Mapelwood Boulder (Man-O-Man x Gen-I-Beq Shottle Bombi) from Lucia. Luna is a full sister to the much talked about new release sires from GenerVations, Liquid Gold, Fuzion and Gizmo. (Read – $750 Dollar Semen! Are They Crazy?) Obviously Stanton’s have been reading the Bullvine. (Read – Top Three Things To Consider When Investing In High Genomic Cows)

Another cow family that generated high interest and top prices was that of GEN-I-BEQ SHOTTLE BOMBI EX-92-6YR-USA 3*. A Flevo Genetics Snowman daughter, Oconnors Snowman Bermuda, out of Bombi’s highest index daughter GEN-I-BEQ MANOMAN BIBI VG-85-2YR-CAN, sold for $125,000. Bermuda has an outstanding DGV LPI of +4077, 294 kg of Fat and Protein and is the #6 GPA LPI heifer in Canada. Also topping the sale from the Bombi family was her polled and red carrier Colt-P daughter MAPEL WOOD COLT BRENDA who sold for $113,000. Brenda’s first choice Earnhardt daughter that was guaranteed to have at least one homozygous female option sold for $115,000.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The GMO partnership provides an outstanding model for how A.I. and top breeders can work together to accelerate their genetic programs. These three first came together under the mentorship of Albert Cormier (Genetics By Design sale manager) and have developed a long-standing mutually beneficial relationship.

With over 300 of the top animals in the world about to be sold over the next two weeks we thought it would be worthwhile to help Bullvine readers navigate around the three main sales: the Genomic Power Sale (GPS) on November 2nd; the Genetics by Design Sale on November 6th and the Sale of Stars on November 9th. It can be hard to compare animals across sales. We compiled lists of all the sale animals and here are the lots that we will have our eye on. They are outstanding!

Top GLPI Animals

NAME

Sale

Lot

GLPI

OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA

Genetics By Design

1

3823

STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA

GPS

16

3798

OCONNORS LIVING THE DREAM

Genetics By Design

14

3755

MAPEL WOOD LAST DANCE

Genetics By Design

3

3710

MAPEL WOOD SNOWMAN LEXUS

Genetics By Design

4

3673

OCONNORS BOULDER LUNA

Genetics By Design

6

3537

MAPEL WOOD BOULDER LIMERICK

Genetics By Design

7

3537

OCONNORS LAST HOPE

Genetics By Design

2

3534

BENNER FORK JANARDAN

GPS

1

3493

OCONNORS EPIC LAST CHANCE

Genetics By Design

8

3465

OCD MOGUL FUZZY NAVEL

Sale of Stars

5

3460

GEN-I-BEQ LEXOR PLAGE

Sale of Stars

45

3398

VELTHUIS SG LAVAMAN ENVY

Sale of Stars

46

3372

MARBRI UNO BEAUTY

GPS

11

3328

MAPEL WOOD M O M LUCY

Genetics By Design

12

3299

ROCKYMOUNTAIN LEXOR EDEN

GPS

32

3289

WELCOME-TEL ECOYNE ABBIE

Sale of Stars

12

3286

ZIMMER WENDON UNO CAMI

Sale of Stars

35

3268

OCONNORS SNOWMAN LEXIE

Genetics By Design

5

3255

BOLDI V S G EPIC ASTER

Sale of Stars

7

3240

OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA (Lot #1 Genetics by Design)

OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA VG-86-2YR-CAN

Leading the way is none other than the #1 GLPI cow in Canada. This is only the second time that the current #1 LPI cow in Canada has been offered at public auction. The first time being when Crackholm Comestar Memory sold in the Vente Comestar Edition Sale 2000 for $77,000 to Wauregan Farms in Maine from consignors Comestar and David Crack. There is nothing more marketable than being #1 (Read more – The Sensational 6 North American Genomic Holsteins We Would Invest In). If you are looking for an investment opportunity where the work is done, and you just need to flush and make money, Lucia could be the one for you. If you want a heifer, there are 10 Lucia daughters, 9 of them over LPI +3000, also being sold in the Genetics by Design Sale.

STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA (Lot #16 GPS)

Topping the GPS sale and the highest DGV heifer available is STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA. Amaluna is the #5 GPA LPI heifer in Canada. Her Man-O-Man dam is yet to classify but her 2nd dam is LES091 BAXTER MODEL RUBIS VG-87-3YR-CAN is the #27 GLPI Cow in Canada. This heifer is also the #1 DGV LPI animal that will be offered at +4188. While I will want to check out the rump on this heifer she has it all, production, durability, health and fertility as well as a very advanced sire stack, Moon x Man-O-Man x Baxter x Goldwyn.

OCD MOGUL FUZZY NAVEL (Lot #5 Sale of Stars)

This highest GPA LPI animal in the Sale of Stars is OCD MOGUL FUZZY NAVEL. Fuzzy Navel’s dam, OCD Man-O-Man Fantom, recently scored GP-83 at 2 weeks fresh, and she will score higher. She is off to a great record so far, producing 83 lbs. milk with 3.9% fat and 2.9% protein on her first test. Navel’s 2nd dam by “Shottle”, Felic Forgive VG-85-DOM, has a record of 28,020 lbs. milk, 4.0% fat and 2.9% protein as a 3-year-old.

Genomically Gifted

NAME

Sale

Lot

DGV GLPI

STE ODILE MOON MODEL AMALUNA

GPS

16

4188

OCONNORS LIVING THE DREAM

Genetics By Design

14

4144

MAPEL WOOD LAST DANCE

Genetics By Design

3

3818

MAPEL WOOD SNOWMAN LEXUS

Genetics By Design

4

3798

BENNER FORK JANARDAN

GPS

1

3744

OCD MOGUL FUZZY NAVEL

Sale of Stars

5

3727

OCONNORS BOULDER LUNA

Genetics By Design

6

3656

LANGS-TWIN-B MOGUL 4915-ET

GPS

13

3592

MAPEL WOOD BOULDER LIMERICK

Genetics By Design

7

3578

OCONNORS EPIC LAST CHANCE

Genetics By Design

8

3569

ROCKYMOUNTAIN LEXOR EDEN

GPS

32

3563

OCONNORS LAST HOPE

Genetics By Design

2

3561

MARBRI UNO BEAUTY

GPS

11

3552

FUSTEAD MGL SEBRING 8037

Sale of Stars

23

3534

OCONNORS PLANET LUCIA

Genetics By Design

1

3520

B-S-D HUNTER PARIS 6081

Sale of Stars

47

3513

GEN-I-BEQ LEXOR PLAGE

Sale of Stars

45

3454

VELTHUIS SG LAVAMAN ENVY

Sale of Stars

46

3448

WELCOME-TEL ECOYNE ABBIE

Sale of Stars

12

3448

COOKIECUTTER MOM HUE

Sale of Stars

2

3420

OCONNORS LIVING THE DREAM (Lot #14 Genetics by Design)

Following closely behind Amaluna for the highest DGV LPI in the breed let alone available at public offering is OCONNORS LIVING THE DREAM. Living the Dream is the Epic daughter of the Man-O-Man sister to Planet Lucia, MAPEL WOOD M O M LUCY. She is gifted in many ways, not only is she from the Lylehaven Lyla Z family, but she also one of the highest daughters in the family for health and fertility. This heifer’s DGV’s are through the roof, with her DGV’s for all the major conformation traits being at least 1 to 2 points higher than her GPA’s. It will certainly be very interesting to see who sells for more between Amaluna and Living The Dream.

BENNER FORK JANARDAN (Lot #1 GPS)

BENNER FORK JANARDAN

The second highest DGV heifer in the GPS sale is BENNER FORK JANARDAN. Selling open and ready to flush Janardan is from the #3 GLPI cow in Canada BENNER PLANET JAKOVA GP-83. Janardan is the #1 De-Su Fork daughter in Canada. A first choice Mogul from Janardan sold for $75,000 in the World Classic Sale (Read – World Classic 2012 Highlights). This heifer has a DGV for Conformation of +19, combine that with high production and outstanding durability and she is ready to be flushed to the top health and fertility sires, such as Lithium or Krunch to get the next great one (Read – Top 12 Genomic Young Sires To Use For Maximum Genetic Gain).

B-S-D HUNTER PARIS 6081 (Lot #47 Sale of Stars)

The highest DGV LPI heifer in the Sale of Stars is B-S-D HUNTER PARIS 6081. Paris is the #3 GPA LPI Hunter daughter in the world. Her DGV LPI of 3513 is 321 points higher than her outstanding Parent Average. This heifer is very similar to Janardan in that she has amazing production, durability and type numbers, but could also mate well to some of the top health and fertility sires.

6 Other Lots Catching Our Eye

SEAGULL-BAY SNOW DARLING (Lot #40A Sale of Stars)

SEAGULL-BAY SNOW DARLING

SEAGULL-BAY SNOW DARLING is the Snowman daughter from none other than AMMON-PEACHEY SHAUNA. Darling has 4 generations of #1 TPI Sires (Snowman x Planet x Shottle x Oman). Combined with that, her dam was recently selected one of the top five most complete cows in the world today (Read – 2012 Golden Dam: The Results Are In). Here is a rare opportunity.

1st Choice MAYFIELD x TRAMILDA OBSERVER LYNN (Lot #48 GPS)

For those of you hoping to cash in on a sleeper, there is the 1st Choice MAYFIELD from TRAMILDA OBSERVER LYNN . Lynn has a DGV LPI 472 points higher than her PA GLPI. This De-Su Observer daughter is from an outcross pedigree (Socrates x Lou x Forbidden). She is among the top 10 TPI Observer daughters in the world. Though, this balanced heifer has it all, I will be checking out her rump very closely.

SUNTOR MAN O MAN JELENA (Lot #3 Sale of Stars)

Catching our eye earlier this year was OCONNORS GOLDWYN JASMINE EX-92-CAN the Goldwyn Sister to Oconnors Jay (Read – The Bloom Is On Oconnors Goldwyn Jasmine). Selling in the Sale of Stars as lot 3 is her VG 2yr old daughter SUNTOR MAN O MAN JELENA. Jelena really is a great package, she has a great type and production pedigree, proven sons coming out of the family and she herself has a strong genomic test. A great opportunity to get into an emerging cow family.

MAPEL WOOD SUDAN KAYLEIGH (Lot #91 Genetics by Design)

Maybe lost in all the great Lyla Z progeny at this sale will be WIAMY KYANA BOLTON VG-88-3YR-CAN and her daughters. The highest of her daughters is MAPEL WOOD SUDAN KAYLEIGH and she sells as lot 91. Possessing a little bit of an outcross pedigree (Sudan x Bolton x O Man) for most Canadian pedigrees this heifer has strong production, durability and health and fertility numbers. I will be watching to see if her rump and dairy strength are enough to potentially go VG as a 2yr old.

COOKIECUTTER MOM HUE (Lot #2 Sale of Stars)

After selling her daughter LOOKOUT PESCE EPIC HUE for $130,000 at the Planet Holstein Sale (Read – The Planet Explodes at World Dairy Expo – 2012 Planet Holstein Sale Recap) Lookout and Pesce are now selling MOM Hue herself. There is no question Hue is becoming a genomic super star as all her daughters are over 3,000 LPI and most are well over their parent averages. Hue herself has DGVs much higher than her parent averages and will certainly command a lot of attention at the sale.

MAPEL WOOD EPIC GOLDRUSH (Lot #135 Genetics by Design)

For those of you looking for something with a little colour to it, there is MAPEL WOOD EPIC GOLDRUSH. This high genomic red heifer is the #7 GPA LPI R&W heifer in Canada. Her 2yr old dam MORSAN MANOMAN FOOLS GOLD RED recently scored VG and is off to a great record. Goldrush has a great balance between production and type and will be sure to attract lots of attention for those in the Red market.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

With so many great animals set to sell there are sure to be many great buys. Find the one that is right for you!